India Has the Feedstock. The Challenge Is Collecting It

Used Cooking Oil Could Play a Critical Role in Meeting India’s Immediate SAF Mandate — A Key Issue at the 2nd India SAF Conclave & Awards 2026

New Delhi,Sept 5th,2026:

As India moves from SAF policy to implementation, feedstock availability and mobilisation are emerging as critical to meeting the country’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) ambitions. India generates an estimated 1.8–2.6 million tonnes of used cooking oil (UCO) annually, yet only around 110,000–156,000 tonnes—approximately 6%—is formally collected. India consumes approximately 29–30 million tonnes of edible oil each year, making UCO one of the country’s most immediately available domestic waste-based feedstocks for SAF. The Government’s indicative SAF blending targets for international flights are 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028 and 5% by 2030. A 5% blend would require approximately 0.4–0.5 million tonnes of SAF annually. While UCO cannot meet the entire long-term requirement, substantially improving its collection could make a meaningful contribution to near-term supply. The challenge is converting an available resource into verified, traceable and certifiable feedstock at scale.

Formalising UCO collection could strengthen energy security, support the circular bioeconomy, prevent used oil from re-entering the food chain and create livelihoods across the collection ecosystem. A policy assessment has indicated potential annual import savings of Rs. 20,000–30,000 crore, industry value creation of Rs.10,000–20,000 crore and possible public-health savings of Rs.50,000–80,000 crore, subject to further techno-economic assessment. The SAF Association has proposed a Used Cooking Oil Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, covering mandatory collection targets, EPR certificates linked to verified recovery, registration of collectors and aggregators, digital traceability and recognition of the last-mile collection workforce. The objective is to create a transparent supply chain from kitchen to collector, aggregator, refinery and certified SAF production.

Industry Perspective at India SAF Conclave 2026

Rohit Kumar, Secretary General, SAF Association and CMAI, said: “India is not short of feedstock; it is short of the systems that can turn available feedstock into verified, sustainable and commercially viable SAF supply. Feedstock mobilisation must receive the same policy attention as technology, finance and airline offtake. We need to build the supply chain now, not after the mandate arrives.”

Manish Marwaha, Founder & CEO, Byufuel, said: “India’s SAF programme will be shaped not only by technology, but by feedstock. The challenge is creating a credible proof and traceability layer—from the kitchen to the refinery—so that this under-utilised domestic resource can be reliably verified and unlocked for India’s SAF transition.”

Byufuel collects UCO from food businesses across 70+ Indian cities and supplies it to refineries through certified supply chains supported by digital chain-of-custody systems.

India’s SAF Opportunity: From Domestic Resource to Global Opportunity

The 2nd India SAF Conclave & Awards 2026, under the theme “Powering the SAF Transition Together,” will connect Indian stakeholders with global expertise, technology, finance and markets, with discussions spanning feedstock mobilisation, SAF technologies, sustainability, airline offtake, project finance, CORSIA, certification and international partnerships. With its growing aviation market, diverse feedstock resources, refining capabilities and industrial base, India has the potential to become a major SAF market, producer and investment destination—turning domestic resources such as UCO into verified, scalable and internationally recognised SAF supply.

2nd India SAF Conclave & Awards 2026